It was a crock of shit, poor tactics, poor subs, don't get me wrong I like Powell always been behind him untill recently, but I'm afraid that his time is up now I think he has to go. We need an experienced head in here now
Powell has done a fantastic job when you look at the amount of time he has been at the club, couple this with the fact the people running the club give him nothing to work with.
My question to you would be who would you bring in to replace him?
don't get me wrong I like Powell always been behind him untill recently, but I'm afraid that his time is up now I think he has to go. We need an experienced head in here now
You could bring in Alex Ferguson with Pep Guadiola as his assistant and the way the club is currently set up I don't believe it would make much difference.
And in any case if Powell went the current owners wouldn't bring in anyone with quality and experience. They'd give the job to Dyer to save money, like the last clueless set of owners who paid off Pardew and gave his job to his even more useless assistant.
I can hear it now. The pre match team talk for every visiting team to The Valley " right lads hold a good tight line along the back and wait for the opportunity to score on the break. It doesn't matter how much ball they have this lot are clueless,they wouldn't score in a brothel" It's very very sad to say that I think we are going down. We don't have the nous to beat the better teams or the bottle to beat the scrapers. I hope I am wrong. The Sheffield Wednesday game is going to be massive in more ways than the normal. If we bottle that game, oh dear dear !!!!!!!
Another game where we huff and puff and get undone by a team who didn't even have to work that hard to beat us. Some of our attacks were just plain desperate and we ran out of ideas in the first half. Second half was no better even with the subs. Don't understand where Pritchard fits into this team now as we have cover for the right and centre midfield. The one occasion early in the first half where he had the chance to control it in the box and instead gave it away pretty much summed up his whole game. Can anyone seriously see us staying in this league going on our current form and players? All well and good saying we played well or we had more possession or we are only getting beaten by the odd goal or two but the cold hard facts are we are struggling to score goals and getting on any sort of run. And that my friends doesn't keep the wolf from the door. I'l keep going as long as there is a Charlton but at the moment it is torture and I have pretty much written this season off, takeover or not.
First game for a few weeks. I'm going to call it as I saw it which may upset a few people but hey ho.
We have a poor squad with none of the fighting spirit and togetherness that held us together last year. At least six players look thoroughly disillusioned. The crowd know it too. The attendance was poor and there is an air of benign resignation. I will be very surprised if we are not relegated.
Despite my man love for CP and realism about the constraints he is working under there are signs that he is losing the plot. Today's selection was just plain dumb. If I ever succeed in getting on Pointless, when asked for a pointless answer I am going to say "Bradley Pritchard". It doesn't matter what the question is. He is utterly useless and even more so when played in a ridiculous position.
We are reduced now to just throwing players on to the pitch and hoping they can sort themselves out. The formation after the substitutions was mind-blowing bonkers.
Wouldn't surprise me if CP walks soon.
And to top it all off I had a coupon in one hand and a fiver in the other about to write down two-nil Derby at twenty something to one and my mate suggested that it wouldn't be the done thing to bet against my own team so I didnt. Bollox!
Look for the positives and look hard! Cousins and Stephens looking better every game. And Kermorgant improving / looking solid. Back four not too bad and Solly back sooner or later. And I dont think Powell is going anywhere. Let's how we do over Christmas
I should feel despondent after a 2-0 defeat but resigned is a better adjective to describe my mood.
The highlight of the day for me was the delight on those Upbeats' faces as they took the applause at half time.
However I suppose I ought to briefly mention the 45 minutes or so either side of that!
My impression was that we didn't actually start that badly but, as ever, despite what appeared to be the greater share of possession we barely worked the keeper although we did at least attempt some shots for once. The referee, whom I'll euphemistically describe as inconsistent, then gave a free kick to Derby which struck Cousins on the head before looping into the opposite corner from the wrong footed Kiely (kicking wise anyway) Hamer (someone else slagged him off today) Alnwick into the opposite side of the goal.
Second half we tried to attack them and I think Powell chose the correct option with his substitutions, Church displaying why he was left on the bench with the gold plated chance he put wide. The most blatant example of our failure once again to work the keeper.
Pritchard looked a shadow of the dynamo I know and love. Is he fully fit? I guess not having played for a long time might explain his general air of listlessness but very unPritchardlike overall.
Other than Pritch and Church as already mentioned no individual particularly stood out for me as good or bad. A competent team performance that deserved a draw but our lack of a cutting edge cost us once more.
The positive is that results around us on balance went in our favour. The negative is more multi orgasms for the Powell out mob.
SCP is the one hope we have in my view. If he goes start booking hotel rooms in Oldham and all points North West for next season.
A decent first half hour but, after the unfortunate deflected free kick, we visibly wilted and Derby found an extra yard.
They dominated the first 15 minutes of the second half and should have been 2-0 up when their guy hit the bar from 12 yards. The introduction of Harriott and Church gave us a bit of impetus although, in the final analysis, we only created one gilt-edged chance, which Morrison headed wide following Kermogant's cross. Other than that, Stephens put one just wide following a good cross from Wilson and Church (who can't really strike a ball) shot at the goalie from an angle. That is, on any view, a poor return for a home team and 16 goals (now the lowest in the division) tells its own story.
Wiggins and Cousins were very good and Stephens got stuck in, without creating much. Pritchard (played out of position) was poor, as was Stewart. The latter was up against a tough, physical full back, Wisdon, and once he was muscled out of the first few challenges, Stewart never looked like making an impression.
All these home defeats and the off field problems really are creating a pervasive feeling of gloom around the place. The management and the players will just have to battle on and try and chisel out a few results to try and stay out of the bottom three before the 6 pointers against Wednesday and Barnsley at the Valley.
I looked at the performance today and could not match it up with my memories of the past few seasons' teams, despite so many familiar faces. Rightly or wrongly, attribute credit/blame where you will, but at the very most you can say Charlton is stagnating, at the worst it's rotting away. We have played much worse this season, but not a whole lot better - and that's very worrying to me.
After Chris Martins performance today and last week against Blackpool I fully expect to see him appear on ITV's celebrity diving show Splash next year.
Actually disagree about the tactics. We know we can't match most opponents for quality so we need to be organised and work hard, which is usually how we've got results in this division under Powell.
We weren't great going forward but we made it difficult for Derby and they didn't really create anything in the first half hour.
Pritchard (and Wagstaff in the past, another not know for skill and creativity) has done a job in that position before. Problem is it works when you're trying to make it difficult for the opposition. This team has enough trouble creating chances, once we conceded we needed more of a threat up there. Another day we might have kept it 0-0 for longer and gone for it later in the game with a striker coming on for Pritchard.
Not ridiculous tactics for me. I was more disappointed to see Harriott playing centrally/on the right. Crowd him out and his poor decision making always lets him down. Play him on the left where he gets a bit more space.
Powell has limited choices and as Pardew and Parky did in our last relegation season he's trying different options knowing in reality he doesn't have the quality and depth required. We know we have trouble scoring goals and you can see the players do too.
Wasn't long ago we had that run of clean sheets and we were competing again. This looks like a relegation team at the moment but hopefully Solly, Wood and a couple of changes elsewhere might just get another small run going. Not much else we can do with this team.
I don't think it was as bad as it seems, thought it was fairly smash and grab from Derby's point of view. Their fans agree, all of their fans on the train said we were far too good to go down, our build up play was very impressive but we lacked in the final third. I agree with them but the problem is when are we going to convert that in to goals.
First 20 minutes were exceptionally lively which surprised me as we were quick out of the blocks and had chances.
They had a very lucky deflection from a free kick that was easily covered by Alnwick but it hit Wiggins on the head and went in. The wall was not good, Alnwick was screaming that he wanted a four man wall but Wiggins joined the wall at the last minute to make it a five man wall and yep so goes our luck that it was his head that it hit!
We had chances to take the lead, a big one falling to Stephens, and chances to equalise, a big one falling to Morrison.
The second goal we were just caught short at the back as we were attacking and that's that, game over.
Whoever said pre match that martins was a diver? Well how right you were, dirty annoying player.
It was just one of those games, and their have been plenty of those this season, but surely, surely, surely (hopefully) the tide has to turn at some point.
In my opinion the subs were right, but Stewart should have been switched to the right and Harriott on the left because Stewart should of had a go at their dreadful left back Forsythe as he was out muscled by the huge full back Wisdom.
I'm more convinced we will stay up now than I was after the Ipswich game.
The confidence of the team is on the floor and we need to be the ones to pick them up and show our support week in week out. I pray to god that the board doesn't do something stupid tonight.
Today was not great, was it? Anyone that says we were unlucky or did not get the rub of the green has not seen us often this season. It was the same old Charlton, huffing and puffing, but creating little. I DONT THINK THE derby Keeper had a save to make. I love Yann but all he did was moan today for both halves, Pritchard cannot play in the hole FACT. Cousins is a great player but youngsters in a struggling team are under a lot of pressure, I feel sorry for the lad. He gets the ball often as it break from a CAFC corner and he seems not to know what to do with it. I tweeted earlier a point that someone else has made here. The Board need to take a decision, either invest in players during the January window or sack Powell-this cannot continue as it is. Personally I hope they invest.
Going to have a drink and reflect on a very depressing day.
Hmmm, we are where we are and in context I don't think we did to badly, a deflected goal and a goal when we were going for it. Derby did nothing really to impress me and we should have equalised.
Whilst I did not understand the starting line up, let alone formation you only have to look at the starting line up realise how under invested this squad is. With the exception of Alnwick, Stewart and DerVitte this was a starting team that played in Div 1 two years ago (Albeit Wilson was with Stevenage).
We started well, but had little cutting edge against the Championship in form team. In fact throughout the game Alnwick had little to do - one save from a long distance shot and twice picking the ball out of the back of the net. When they scored we lost the momentum but were never overwhelmed.
CP made the substitutions at the right time and we looked sharper, sadly to no real avail.
With this threadbare squad its going to be a difficult winter. Dissapointed with the result, not so much with our performance.
After too many games we complain about referees on here, sometimes with justification, mostly not, todays referee fell in the former camp.
Right formation and defensive tactics - we stopped them playing through midfield really well ( helped by the absence of Will Hughes).
Wrong team selection - Derby's weaknesses at the back are, a lack of pace in the central defence and left back areas. They will struggle against passes played in behind and any pressure on the left back Forsyth will open up their left side. What did CP do? He picked a lone CF who is static, lacks pace and doesn't run in behind; a Right Winger who looks to hit early crosses, rather than take on his opponent; and an attacking midfielder who gets a nose-bleed inside the box. Strange.
I would have liked to have seen Sordell / Church as a double sub in the second half, to throw a different problem at the Derby Centre Backs. With Sordell dropping off and Church running in behind, as they did so well at Blackburn earlier in the season, we could have split them. They were comfortable defending against a lone CF.
Chris Martin dived to win a penalty last week and threw himself to the floor on 5/6 occasions to win free kicks in this game. Why do we not learn and continue to fall for it? It's no surprise, that was how he played alongside Grant Holt at Norwich when we played them in League One.
really really disappointed - more so for the team than for us fans as they worked hard and did not deserve to lose. I felt they all tried hard & for large parts of the game were the better team - esp Stephens & Cousins in midfield - but you don't always get what you deserve in football (as in life)
I have read all the posts on here and agree with a lot of them, apart from the "stick with powell" &the "100% CP support" one's. I defended CP last week saying that it was the owners fault having not giving him any money in the summer & leaving most of out players out of contract next June. However, todays team selection just showed that he has finally run out of ideas & someone else should now take over before it is all too late. No matter how bad Church or Sodell may be, they must be a better bet than playing Pritchard up front. To start a match with 2 recognised strikers on the bench and a midfielder (who by his own admission has taken finishing lessons of Peacock because he knows he's weak in this area) playing as the lone frontman is just plain daft. It seems to me that CP just pulls 11 names out of a hat & that's it.
Sorry, but for me, CP has to go. I don't really care who comes in to replace him - I'd prefer someone without any CAFC history to be honest - but after today I just give up.
Tutt-Tutt Member 8:07PM Right formation and defensive tactics - we stopped them playing through midfield really well ( helped by the absence of Will Hughes).
Wrong team selection - Derby's weaknesses at the back are, a lack of pace in the central defence and left back areas. They will struggle against passes played in behind and any pressure on the left back Forsyth will open up their left side. What did CP do? He picked a lone CF who is static, lacks pace and doesn't run in behind; a Right Winger who looks to hit early crosses, rather than take on his opponent; and an attacking midfielder who gets a nose-bleed inside the box. Strange.
I would have liked to have seen Sordell / Church as a double sub in the second half, to throw a different problem at the Derby Centre Backs. With Sordell dropping off and Church running in behind, as they did so well at Blackburn earlier in the season, we could have split them. They were comfortable defending against a lone CF.
Chris Martin dived to win a penalty last week and threw himself to the floor on 5/6 occasions to win free kicks in this game. Why do we not learn and continue to fall for it? It's no surprise, that was how he played alongside Grant Holt at Norwich when we played them in League One.
Flag Quote I really wish you could have some input at the club, Tutt-Tutt, I really do.
I have to agree with several of the above - for the first time this season (I missed Ipswich) there was an air of resignation about the place. A poor, poor performance after a reasonable first 20 mins. No apparent leadership on the field, little guile and a horrible lack of threatening attacks for a home team. Green flattered to deceive for half an hour. Pritchard was asked to play a role for which he is singularly unsuited and sadly looked like a boy amongst men. When Church was sent though late on I was expecting much, but the weak effort he directed straight at the keeper summed up the quality of his finishing. I'm looking for positives and all I can take is that we are fortunate to have players of the quality of Cousins, Stephens and Wiggins. Let's hope we can keep them or we will be even deeper in the brown stuff than we currently are.
ps The Upbeats gig at half-time was heart-warming. Well done to all those involved.
Can we please stop saying that Pritchard played up front? He played as an attacking midfielder off the front man, which was mainly done to nullify the quality of the short passing they do in midfield.
Big money per week for Sordell. Has hardly done much?
Send him back and bring someone else in on loan?
Like for agree.
Lol for disagree.
Has not really had much of a chance to show what he can do, I am surprised he did not do a Danny Mills and take the X Mas holiday off (Well he has next Saturday off anyway).
Yes send him back as we have done with most loanees, but don't put the blame just on his shoulders.
Kermorgant might have to be dropped to the bench and I'm not really sure what Pritchard's role was meant to be....at best, he was a nullifier of space for Eustace. Jesus...we're were at home and we've got to stop worrying about whether the opposition play 4-3-3 or 4-4-1-1. Play the best players and try to get as many of the (few) goalscorers we've got, on the pitch at the same time. Save the conservative tactics for the away games.
Kermorgant might have to be dropped to the bench and I'm not really sure what Pritchard's role was meant to be....at best, he was a nullifier of space for Eustace. Jesus...we're were at home and we've got to stop worrying about whether the opposition play 4-3-3 or 4-4-1-1. Play the best players and try to get as many of the (few) goalscorers we've got, on the pitch at the same time. Save the conservative tactics for the away games.
Trouble is that our best players aren't good enough to line up pound for pound against most other teams, therefore we have to consider the opposition tactics. I think the formation was correct today and that showed in how Derby played for the first half hour.
Powell has limited choices and as Pardew and Parky did in our last relegation season he's trying different options knowing in reality he doesn't have the quality and depth required.
Unlike Powell, Pardew actually had too many choices which contributed to his inability to find what his best side was. He brought in so many bodies, whether permanent signings or loanees, that I think we ended up breaking the club record by fielding something like 39 different players in a season?
Few of them had any quality it is true; but he had a much larger squad than Powell has to work with and was supported in the boardroom every time he said he needed to freshen up the squad with new faces. So I think the comparison breaks down right there.
Right formation and defensive tactics - we stopped them playing through midfield really well ( helped by the absence of Will Hughes).
Wrong team selection - Derby's weaknesses at the back are, a lack of pace in the central defence and left back areas. They will struggle against passes played in behind and any pressure on the left back Forsyth will open up their left side. What did CP do? He picked a lone CF who is static, lacks pace and doesn't run in behind; a Right Winger who looks to hit early crosses, rather than take on his opponent; and an attacking midfielder who gets a nose-bleed inside the box.
I'd read your analysis of Derby County on the pre match thread and, as I noted in my post above, I was therefore surprised when I saw the side CP had picked. Either he and his team had not done their homework or, perhaps more likely, they are so desperate to play Kermorgant it's clouding their judgement. I suggested in the post match thread after the Leeds game that accommodating a fit again Kermorgant might prove difficult and unfortunately his return hasn't helped, not yet at least.
Whilst I'm being critical, I might as well also point out that Wisdom is obviously very strong and a good athlete. He was too good for Stewart this afternoon and I was, therefore, also surprised that Cameron wasn't taken off or moved to the right much earlier.
Can we please stop saying that Pritchard played up front? He played as an attacking midfielder off the front man, which was mainly done to nullify the quality of the short passing they do in midfield.
If that was the case then its even worse - not to play with a single striker at home defies logic. For f**k sake, play 4-4-2 and go for it !!
and before you say that would be madness I ask you to look at the final score today ! WE LOST - so that worked well didn't it !!!
Can we please stop saying that Pritchard played up front? He played as an attacking midfielder off the front man, which was mainly done to nullify the quality of the short passing they do in midfield.
If that was the case then its even worse - not to play with a single striker at home defies logic. For f**k sake, play 4-4-2 and go for it !!
and before you say that would be madness I ask you to look at the final score today ! WE LOST - so that worked well didn't it !!!
What are you on about? Kermorgant played as a lone striker.
I expected Derby to outclass us, but thought there was very little between us. Had we begun the game with two strikers we might have nicked a goal in the first half and it would have made a world of difference. As it was everything was flat. No excitement to raise the atmosphere. As usual we fall behind to a goal against the run of play and then play catch up for the rest of the game. When Harriot and Church came on we suddenly looked dangerous and for the first time their defense looked rattled. We have some very good players and shouldn't be worrying about packing the midfield, to stop the opposition. We should be attacking teams at home from the outset with two wingers and two strikers. We are a midfielder and a goalscorer short of being a very good team IMO, but if we continue to approach games in such a negative way, we are going down. I don't know how you guys put up with that every week, I felt very depressed leaving the Valley today.
Comments
My question to you would be who would you bring in to replace him?
Powell has my full 100% support.
And in any case if Powell went the current owners wouldn't bring in anyone with quality and experience. They'd give the job to Dyer to save money, like the last clueless set of owners who paid off Pardew and gave his job to his even more useless assistant.
Be careful what you wish for and all that ...
" right lads hold a good tight line along the back and wait for the opportunity to score on the break. It doesn't matter how much ball they have this lot are clueless,they wouldn't score in a brothel"
It's very very sad to say that I think we are going down. We don't have the nous to beat the better teams or the bottle to beat the scrapers. I hope I am wrong. The Sheffield Wednesday game is going to be massive in more ways than the normal. If we bottle that game, oh dear dear !!!!!!!
Derby were ordinary and I felt hard done by,but not angry, that we didn't get something from that.
Another martini,I think.
We have a poor squad with none of the fighting spirit and togetherness that held us together last year. At least six players look thoroughly disillusioned. The crowd know it too. The attendance was poor and there is an air of benign resignation. I will be very surprised if we are not relegated.
Despite my man love for CP and realism about the constraints he is working under there are signs that he is losing the plot. Today's selection was just plain dumb. If I ever succeed in getting on Pointless, when asked for a pointless answer I am going to say "Bradley Pritchard". It doesn't matter what the question is. He is utterly useless and even more so when played in a ridiculous position.
We are reduced now to just throwing players on to the pitch and hoping they can sort themselves out. The formation after the substitutions was mind-blowing bonkers.
Wouldn't surprise me if CP walks soon.
And to top it all off I had a coupon in one hand and a fiver in the other about to write down two-nil Derby at twenty something to one and my mate suggested that it wouldn't be the done thing to bet against my own team so I didnt. Bollox!
Disillusioned of Dartford
And I dont think Powell is going anywhere.
Let's how we do over Christmas
I should feel despondent after a 2-0 defeat but resigned is a better adjective to describe my mood.
The highlight of the day for me was the delight on those Upbeats' faces as they took the applause at half time.
However I suppose I ought to briefly mention the 45 minutes or so either side of that!
My impression was that we didn't actually start that badly but, as ever, despite what appeared to be the greater share of possession we barely worked the keeper although we did at least attempt some shots for once. The referee, whom I'll euphemistically describe as inconsistent, then gave a free kick to Derby which struck Cousins on the head before looping into the opposite corner from the wrong footed
Kiely(kicking wise anyway)Hamer(someone else slagged him off today) Alnwick into the opposite side of the goal.Second half we tried to attack them and I think Powell chose the correct option with his substitutions, Church displaying why he was left on the bench with the gold plated chance he put wide. The most blatant example of our failure once again to work the keeper.
Pritchard looked a shadow of the dynamo I know and love. Is he fully fit? I guess not having played for a long time might explain his general air of listlessness but very unPritchardlike overall.
Other than Pritch and Church as already mentioned no individual particularly stood out for me as good or bad. A competent team performance that deserved a draw but our lack of a cutting edge cost us once more.
The positive is that results around us on balance went in our favour. The negative is more multi orgasms for the Powell out mob.
SCP is the one hope we have in my view. If he goes start booking hotel rooms in Oldham and all points North West for next season.
They dominated the first 15 minutes of the second half and should have been 2-0 up when their guy hit the bar from 12 yards. The introduction of Harriott and Church gave us a bit of impetus although, in the final analysis, we only created one gilt-edged chance, which Morrison headed wide following Kermogant's cross. Other than that, Stephens put one just wide following a good cross from Wilson and Church (who can't really strike a ball) shot at the goalie from an angle. That is, on any view, a poor return for a home team and 16 goals (now the lowest in the division) tells its own story.
Wiggins and Cousins were very good and Stephens got stuck in, without creating much. Pritchard (played out of position) was poor, as was Stewart. The latter was up against a tough, physical full back, Wisdon, and once he was muscled out of the first few challenges, Stewart never looked like making an impression.
All these home defeats and the off field problems really are creating a pervasive feeling of gloom around the place. The management and the players will just have to battle on and try and chisel out a few results to try and stay out of the bottom three before the 6 pointers against Wednesday and Barnsley at the Valley.
We weren't great going forward but we made it difficult for Derby and they didn't really create anything in the first half hour.
Pritchard (and Wagstaff in the past, another not know for skill and creativity) has done a job in that position before. Problem is it works when you're trying to make it difficult for the opposition. This team has enough trouble creating chances, once we conceded we needed more of a threat up there. Another day we might have kept it 0-0 for longer and gone for it later in the game with a striker coming on for Pritchard.
Not ridiculous tactics for me. I was more disappointed to see Harriott playing centrally/on the right. Crowd him out and his poor decision making always lets him down. Play him on the left where he gets a bit more space.
Powell has limited choices and as Pardew and Parky did in our last relegation season he's trying different options knowing in reality he doesn't have the quality and depth required. We know we have trouble scoring goals and you can see the players do too.
Wasn't long ago we had that run of clean sheets and we were competing again. This looks like a relegation team at the moment but hopefully Solly, Wood and a couple of changes elsewhere might just get another small run going. Not much else we can do with this team.
First 20 minutes were exceptionally lively which surprised me as we were quick out of the blocks and had chances.
They had a very lucky deflection from a free kick that was easily covered by Alnwick but it hit Wiggins on the head and went in. The wall was not good, Alnwick was screaming that he wanted a four man wall but Wiggins joined the wall at the last minute to make it a five man wall and yep so goes our luck that it was his head that it hit!
We had chances to take the lead, a big one falling to Stephens, and chances to equalise, a big one falling to Morrison.
The second goal we were just caught short at the back as we were attacking and that's that, game over.
Whoever said pre match that martins was a diver? Well how right you were, dirty annoying player.
It was just one of those games, and their have been plenty of those this season, but surely, surely, surely (hopefully) the tide has to turn at some point.
In my opinion the subs were right, but Stewart should have been switched to the right and Harriott on the left because Stewart should of had a go at their dreadful left back Forsythe as he was out muscled by the huge full back Wisdom.
I'm more convinced we will stay up now than I was after the Ipswich game.
The confidence of the team is on the floor and we need to be the ones to pick them up and show our support week in week out. I pray to god that the board doesn't do something stupid tonight.
SCP 100% support.
I tweeted earlier a point that someone else has made here. The Board need to take a decision, either invest in players during the January window or sack Powell-this cannot continue as it is. Personally I hope they invest.
Going to have a drink and reflect on a very depressing day.
Whilst I did not understand the starting line up, let alone formation you only have to look at the starting line up realise how under invested this squad is. With the exception of Alnwick, Stewart and DerVitte this was a starting team that played in Div 1 two years ago (Albeit Wilson was with Stevenage).
We started well, but had little cutting edge against the Championship in form team. In fact throughout the game Alnwick had little to do - one save from a long distance shot and twice picking the ball out of the back of the net. When they scored we lost the momentum but were never overwhelmed.
CP made the substitutions at the right time and we looked sharper, sadly to no real avail.
With this threadbare squad its going to be a difficult winter. Dissapointed with the result, not so much with our performance.
After too many games we complain about referees on here, sometimes with justification, mostly not, todays referee fell in the former camp.
Simples
Wrong team selection - Derby's weaknesses at the back are, a lack of pace in the central defence and left back areas. They will struggle against passes played in behind and any pressure on the left back Forsyth will open up their left side. What did CP do? He picked a lone CF who is static, lacks pace and doesn't run in behind; a Right Winger who looks to hit early crosses, rather than take on his opponent; and an attacking midfielder who gets a nose-bleed inside the box. Strange.
I would have liked to have seen Sordell / Church as a double sub in the second half, to throw a different problem at the Derby Centre Backs. With Sordell dropping off and Church running in behind, as they did so well at Blackburn earlier in the season, we could have split them. They were comfortable defending against a lone CF.
Chris Martin dived to win a penalty last week and threw himself to the floor on 5/6 occasions to win free kicks in this game. Why do we not learn and continue to fall for it? It's no surprise, that was how he played alongside Grant Holt at Norwich when we played them in League One.
I have read all the posts on here and agree with a lot of them, apart from the "stick with powell" &the "100% CP support" one's. I defended CP last week saying that it was the owners fault having not giving him any money in the summer & leaving most of out players out of contract next June. However, todays team selection just showed that he has finally run out of ideas & someone else should now take over before it is all too late. No matter how bad Church or Sodell may be, they must be a better bet than playing Pritchard up front. To start a match with 2 recognised strikers on the bench and a midfielder (who by his own admission has taken finishing lessons of Peacock because he knows he's weak in this area) playing as the lone frontman is just plain daft. It seems to me that CP just pulls 11 names out of a hat & that's it.
Sorry, but for me, CP has to go. I don't really care who comes in to replace him - I'd prefer someone without any CAFC history to be honest - but after today I just give up.
Tutt-Tutt Member
8:07PM
Right formation and defensive tactics - we stopped them playing through midfield really well ( helped by the absence of Will Hughes).
Wrong team selection - Derby's weaknesses at the back are, a lack of pace in the central defence and left back areas. They will struggle against passes played in behind and any pressure on the left back Forsyth will open up their left side. What did CP do? He picked a lone CF who is static, lacks pace and doesn't run in behind; a Right Winger who looks to hit early crosses, rather than take on his opponent; and an attacking midfielder who gets a nose-bleed inside the box. Strange.
I would have liked to have seen Sordell / Church as a double sub in the second half, to throw a different problem at the Derby Centre Backs. With Sordell dropping off and Church running in behind, as they did so well at Blackburn earlier in the season, we could have split them. They were comfortable defending against a lone CF.
Chris Martin dived to win a penalty last week and threw himself to the floor on 5/6 occasions to win free kicks in this game. Why do we not learn and continue to fall for it? It's no surprise, that was how he played alongside Grant Holt at Norwich when we played them in League One.
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I really wish you could have some input at the club, Tutt-Tutt, I really do.
You always talk so much sense.
A poor, poor performance after a reasonable first 20 mins. No apparent leadership on the field, little guile and a horrible lack of threatening attacks for a home team.
Green flattered to deceive for half an hour. Pritchard was asked to play a role for which he is singularly unsuited and sadly looked like a boy amongst men.
When Church was sent though late on I was expecting much, but the weak effort he directed straight at the keeper summed up the quality of his finishing.
I'm looking for positives and all I can take is that we are fortunate to have players of the quality of Cousins, Stephens and Wiggins. Let's hope we can keep them or we will be even deeper in the brown stuff than we currently are.
ps The Upbeats gig at half-time was heart-warming. Well done to all those involved.
Yes send him back as we have done with most loanees, but don't put the blame just on his shoulders.
Few of them had any quality it is true; but he had a much larger squad than Powell has to work with and was supported in the boardroom every time he said he needed to freshen up the squad with new faces. So I think the comparison breaks down right there.
Whilst I'm being critical, I might as well also point out that Wisdom is obviously very strong and a good athlete. He was too good for Stewart this afternoon and I was, therefore, also surprised that Cameron wasn't taken off or moved to the right much earlier.
and before you say that would be madness I ask you to look at the final score today ! WE LOST - so that worked well didn't it !!!
Maybe stick to golf?